Woman has stroke after moving to Alberta, finds out she isn't eligible for 24-hour care

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The Calgary family of an 81-year-old grandmother originally from Salisbury says they’re worried she'll be sent back to New Brunswick because she isn't eligible for long-term care in Alberta after having a stroke.

Kevin French said it took a long time to convince his grandmother to move from the Maritimes to Alberta to be close to her remaining family.

Inez Allen finally agreed to move in October, but had a stroke a few weeks later.

She's now in the hospital and the family says she needs round-the-clock care.

'It’s quite evident that she would be aware that she's back in New Brunswick, she would be aware that she's leaving her family, she would be aware that she's all alone.'—Kevin French

That's when French discovered that — because she's lived in Alberta for less than a year — his grandmother is not eligible for long-term health-care coverage, according to Alberta's Nursing Home Act.

French said it’s a little known exemption.

"The government is essentially trying to force her to move back to another province where she has nobody," he said. French said his grandmother has Alzheimer’s and thinks the move back to Salisbury would devastate her.

"It’s quite evident that she would be aware that she's back in New Brunswick, she would be aware that she's leaving her family, she would be aware that she's all alone," he said.

A spokesperson for Alberta Health wouldn't do an interview except to say they're working with the family and won't send her back to New Brunswick.

French said that may be what Alberta Health is telling the media, but nobody has called the family yet to tell them.